1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to charges that are releasable, for example from an aircraft to which they are fixed, and especially to a safety device for said charges to prevent their untimely activation before they are released. The invention also makes it possible to prevent the activation of these charges after their release, if they have to be released in an inert condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most releasable charges, such as bombs, are provided with a number of control systems, for example firing fuses, which have to be triggered at specified moments and, especially, with a certain delay, essentially for reasons of safety, when the charge is released.
Referring to FIG. 1, when the firing fuses 4 having a trigger are placed in front of the charge 3, namely in nose assembly, they are activated from outside the charge by means of a cable 5, often called a "releasable safety" cable, hooked to the carrier 1, i.e. generally to the aircraft.
The fact that the firing cable or releasable safety cable goes outside the charge, entails the drawback wherein the fuse can be activated unexpectedly or accidentally. For, when the charge is being handled, to assemble various elements or to mount the charge on the carrier, the firing cable may be activated involuntarily. The fuse is then activated and the charge is operational: its operation can be provoked at any instant. When an explosive charge is involved, it is obvious that this type of event should not take place, or should not be capable of taking place. Similarly, for an airborne explosive charge, any object or bird may accidently cause the pulling of the cables and, hence, the activation of the fuse and, thereby, that of the charge, thus endangering the existence of the carrier.
An aim of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks and to create an activating device which is independent of the dimensions of the charge for which it is intended, and which is so designed that it can be manufactured independently of the charge and mounted on it at any instant, especially at the last moment.
The French published patent application No. 2 562 654 describes a safety device to prevent the activation of an airborne charge before its release. This device also enables inert release, i.e. release without the activation of the charge. This safety device is designed to be associated with releasing mechanism, so as to provide for effective triggering of the system only during release from the fitted-up device. This safety device has a clamp. When this clamp is open, an activating cable goes through it freely and when it is closed, it clamps said activating cable.